Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Here's a first look at the 2012-13 Brown Men's Ice Hockey Schedule:

Friday, October 26 IVY SHOWCASE
Saturday, October 27 IVY SHOWCASE
Friday, November 2 at Harvard
Saturday, November 3 at Dartmouth
Friday, November 9 ST. LAWRENCE
Saturday, November 10 CLARKSON
Saturday, November 17 ARMY
Saturday, November 24 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
Sunday, November 25 HOLY CROSS
Friday, November 30 YALE
Saturday, December 1 at Yale
Friday, December 7 UNION
Saturday, December 8 RENSSELAER
Saturday, December 29 at Toyota UConn Classic vs. Minnesota State
Sunday, December 30 at Toyota UConn Classic
Friday, January 11 at Clarkson
Saturday, January 12 at St. Lawrence
Friday, January 18 DARTMOUTH
Saturday, January 19 HARVARD
Friday, January 25 at Colgate
Saturday, January 26 at Cornell
Friday, February 1 QUINNIPIAC
Saturday, February 2 PRINCETON
Friday, February 15 at Rensselaer
Saturday, February 16 at Union
Friday, February 22 at Princeton
Saturday, February 23 at Quinnipiac
Friday, March 1 CORNELL
Saturday, March 2 COLGATE

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

I know others like it, but I'm SO sick of the Ivy Showcase. I think we discussed this last year, so I won't get too into it, but I'd way rather play a couple Hockey East teams (hell, let's play Providence twice! Home-and-home Mayor's Cup series!) so we get a new, refreshing challenge, rather than just losing to Dartmouth for the 50th time since Gaudet left Brown.

I see the Mayor's Cup is an afterthought again. After being played on New Year's Day this past season, it'll be on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, when no one's on campus. Blah.

Also, I'm not happy the Harvard/Dartmouth home series is over Brown's winter break. These are the two games the students actually show up for, and this year, they'll be away.

Another thought: we should have our home-and-home with Yale on the last weekend of the year. Penn and Princeton do that in basketball, and it's really intense. Then again, I don't think Yale considers us to be a rival, so they probably wouldn't be as enthused.

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

I see the Mayor's Cup is an afterthought again. After being played on New Year's Day this past season, it'll be on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, when no one's on campus. Blah.

The plan, which may or may not be realized this year, is to turn the Mayor's Cup into a city-wide family event, possibly combining it into a doubleheader with the P-Bruins and including a hockey clinic by players from both Brown and Providence College at the rink downtown. Thanksgiving weekend appears to be a good time to carry this plan out. Let's give coaches Whittet and Leaman, as well as Providence Economic Development Director Jim Bennet (Brown'79), the chance to bring it to eventual fruition.

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Originally Posted by kdiff77

I know others like it, but I'm SO sick of the Ivy Showcase. I think we discussed this last year, so I won't get too into it, but I'd way rather play a couple Hockey East teams (hell, let's play Providence twice! Home-and-home Mayor's Cup series!) so we get a new, refreshing challenge, rather than just losing to Dartmouth for the 50th time since Gaudet left Brown.

The Showcase allows the coaches to experiment and particularly to see what young players can do in game situations before the real season starts. For example, last year Coach Whittet used eight different defensemen during the weekend, giving freshmen Kyle Quick and Joey DeConsylsis the opportunity to show what they were capable of.

Ideally the Ivy Showcase would be played in a neutral site (e.g., New York City) that would allow for large attendance by alumni from the four schools. Brown and Yale tried that in 1997 and 1998 with considerable success (the games were held at Chelsea Piers and followed by a reception for alumni, players and families), but it appears that the Ivy League frowned on it (as it does on essentially any idea that makes good sense), and the game was dropped.

Not to take anything away from Roy (I actually brought up how well he was doing in the other Brown thread), but to be fair, keep in mind that Gaudreau was about 15 months younger than Roy when they both put up those numbers. Again, I'm sure Roy will be a great player, but who knows what Gaudreau could have done as an 18 year old in that league...

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Originally Posted by Euler18

The Showcase allows the coaches to experiment and particularly to see what young players can do in game situations before the real season starts. For example, last year Coach Whittet used eight different defensemen during the weekend, giving freshmen Kyle Quick and Joey DeConsylsis the opportunity to show what they were capable of.

Ideally the Ivy Showcase would be played in a neutral site (e.g., New York City) that would allow for large attendance by alumni from the four schools. Brown and Yale tried that in 1997 and 1998 with considerable success (the games were held at Chelsea Piers and followed by a reception for alumni, players and families), but it appears that the Ivy League frowned on it (as it does on essentially any idea that makes good sense), and the game was dropped.

Yeah, I know it's very beneficial to all the teams involved. I just want some variety is all. The neutral site idea is a terrific one, but it doesn't seem like those who organize the Showcase are interested in such a format, given that it's been around for a while now with no change.

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Originally Posted by Euler18

The plan, which may or may not be realized this year, is to turn the Mayor's Cup into a city-wide family event, possibly combining it into a doubleheader with the P-Bruins and including a hockey clinic by players from both Brown and Providence College at the rink downtown. Thanksgiving weekend appears to be a good time to carry this plan out. Let's give coaches Whittet and Leaman, as well as Providence Economic Development Director Jim Bennet (Brown'79), the chance to bring it to eventual fruition.

Ah! I did not know that! This is why we keep you around, Euler.

Kidding aside, I think that would be a great idea that would help excite local alumni and fans of both schools.

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

For some reason, the NHL Playoffs always get me really excited for the next Brown season. Too bad it's still 6-7 months away.

Here's to hoping we can put a somewhat disappointing 2011-2012 season behind us and take a big step forward. I may have unfairly criticized Whittet in the heat of this frustrating past season, but I think he might be able to get this team to adopt a team-oriented mentality, since it has no true superstar like Harry Z or Jack Mac to carry it. While I loved those guys, they were relied on to carry the load far too much, and we need more balanced scoring. I think Zaires needs to step up and be a leader, as he is the most offensively-talented senior on the roster. The current freshman and sophomore classes will continue to grow and develop, and they have plenty of experience since the team has been so young the last two years. The incoming class will have to contribute as well, and if that Roy kid is everything we hope he's going to be, we could have a very fun team to watch.

Hopefully our defensive depth improves, as well. We have one of the better pairings in the league in Robertson and Wahl, but that was about it last year. DeConcylis (sp?) showed plenty of promise, but made a lot of mistakes, and Quick never truly earned Whittet's trust enough, especially late in the season, to see substantial time. Crowley should provide good leadership and a be solid 3rd defenseman; the only question is who his partner will be as part of the 2nd unit.

Goaltending is perhaps the biggest concern. Marco looked good for a few games in the middle of the season, but absolutely crumbled down the stretch and lost Whittet's trust to the point where he refused to give an overworked and underachieving Mike Clemente a rest. Borelli has never seen significant playing time and is likely not the answer. Unless there is some stud freshman coming in, it would appear the job is DeFillippo's to lose- and that's a scary thought, given his inconsistency.

All in all, this is a big year for Brown hockey. It's certainly not do or die, but I think it would be very important to get home ice for recruiting and morale purposes. And I think we have a decent shot of achieving that.

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Originally Posted by kdiff77

For some reason, the NHL Playoffs always get me really excited for the next Brown season. Too bad it's still 6-7 months away.

Here's to hoping we can put a somewhat disappointing 2011-2012 season behind us and take a big step forward. I may have unfairly criticized Whittet in the heat of this frustrating past season, but I think he might be able to get this team to adopt a team-oriented mentality, since it has no true superstar like Harry Z or Jack Mac to carry it. While I loved those guys, they were relied on to carry the load far too much, and we need more balanced scoring. I think Zaires needs to step up and be a leader, as he is the most offensively-talented senior on the roster. The current freshman and sophomore classes will continue to grow and develop, and they have plenty of experience since the team has been so young the last two years. The incoming class will have to contribute as well, and if that Roy kid is everything we hope he's going to be, we could have a very fun team to watch.

Hopefully our defensive depth improves, as well. We have one of the better pairings in the league in Robertson and Wahl, but that was about it last year. DeConcylis (sp?) showed plenty of promise, but made a lot of mistakes, and Quick never truly earned Whittet's trust enough, especially late in the season, to see substantial time. Crowley should provide good leadership and a be solid 3rd defenseman; the only question is who his partner will be as part of the 2nd unit.

Goaltending is perhaps the biggest concern. Marco looked good for a few games in the middle of the season, but absolutely crumbled down the stretch and lost Whittet's trust to the point where he refused to give an overworked and underachieving Mike Clemente a rest. Borelli has never seen significant playing time and is likely not the answer. Unless there is some stud freshman coming in, it would appear the job is DeFillippo's to lose- and that's a scary thought, given his inconsistency.

All in all, this is a big year for Brown hockey. It's certainly not do or die, but I think it would be very important to get home ice for recruiting and morale purposes. And I think we have a decent shot of achieving that.

Kdiff: Good post. I agree with your thoughts.
I would add that while the O has no real proven star coming back like Harry, Jack or Volpatti in prior years, the youngsters show a lot of promise. I look forward to Lorito having a break-out year after his first year injury and adjustment slowed him down; his linemates may be critical in his development, and he and Roy have the potential to be a dynamic duo. Jacobson has potential to be an All-Star with more experience. You are right on the money with Zaires. This coming year can be his year to take over as he certainly has showed he is capable of doing so.

D could have problems once you get beyond Robertson and Wahl. Prior posts indicate that one frosh may have the ability to jump right in, Pfeil. Goalie situation really scares me. I have heard nothing about Roy. Is he an "under the radar" type recruit like Danis apparently was? Is it too late for Brendan to bring in some hot prospect? Union brought in Chris Stevens around this time last year and I would be very happy if he were Brown's goalie.